The Sharks defenseman says that playing his old team is still 'weird.'

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SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 8: San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson (65) waits for a face-off during their game against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE — Under normal circumstances, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer would be concerned about the trap awaiting his team at SAP Center Saturday night.

After an emotional win in Las Vegas Thursday, the Sharks are returning home for a date with the NHL’s 30th ranked team, the type of opponent that can be hard to get up for after three straight division wins.

Fortunately for DeBoer, the Sharks (26-13-7) are playing the Ottawa Senators (17-23-5) and the dressing room is determined to get a win for Erik Karlsson after putting forth their worst effort of the season in his homecoming game on Dec. 1.

“I’m actually glad we have something like that tonight,” DeBoer said. “You’re coming off an emotional win in Vegas and this is always a little bit of a trap game, the game after a game like that on the road. We do have that motivation there and we’ve got to use that.”

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The Sharks hit rock bottom in Karlsson’s return to the place he refers to as his “forever city.” The Senators beat the Sharks 6-2, handing them their fifth loss in six games, raising questions about the squad’s status as a Stanley Cup contender.

As Karlsson got held off the scoresheet, posting a minus-2 rating, former-Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker, recorded a four-point game. Chris Tierney, who went to Ottawa in the Karlsson trade, also picked up an assist.

The Sharks held a closed-door meeting with general manager Doug Wilson in Montreal the next day and then DeBoer shuffled up the responsibilities of his coaching staff. The Sharks are 14-3-2 since the debacle in Canada’s capitol and Karlsson is red hot, collecting 26 points in 17 games.

The two-time Norris Trophy winner acknowledged that the game in Ottawa lifted a weight off his shoulders.

“A lot of emotions. I didn’t really know what to expect,” Karlsson said. “It was nice to finally go there and get it over with, see everybody and have that thing done with.”

Still, Karlsson expects Saturday’s rematch in San Jose to be “weird,” even though he and his wife, Melinda, are getting more comfortable with life in San Jose.

“It’s hard to explain. You can’t really put your finger on why it’s so weird, but it is and it was,” Karlsson said. “At the end of the day, we’re accustomed to everything here now. This is our new life. We’re happy where we’re at. We’re excited about that and trying not to dwell on where we would be if things would have been different.”

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As Karlsson grapples with the weirdness of competing against his former-teammates, his new squad will be determined to grab its sixth straight win in round two vs. the Senators Saturday. The Sharks still feed bad about getting clobbered in Karlsson’s return to Ottawa on Dec. 1.

“You always want to go out and beat your own team. Guys take a lot of pride in that,” Justin Braun said. “We let him down. We didn’t play our best game. But, hopefully, tonight we can put it together and keep this thing going.”

2. Braun should be able to put those words into action Saturday.

The Sharks defenseman is poised to make his return to the lineup after missing four straight games with a right-knee injury.

“It feels good. I’m good to go,” Braun said.

DeBoer labelled Braun’s status as a “game-time decision.” But Joakim Ryan bag skated after the Sharks morning practice with the healthy scratches, suggesting that Braun will be in the lineup, partnered up with Tim Heed on the third pairing.

Though Braun is set to return, his longtime partner, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, will miss his fifth straight game with what appears to be a wrist injury.

3. The NHL is finally heading into the 21st century, introducing player-tracking technology during the Sharks 3-2 win over the Golden Knights Thursday.

According a piece in The Athletic, the NHL put microchips into the pucks and player equipment used in Thursday night’s game, testing technology that could be introduced full time during the 2019-20 season.

The chips delivered information to 18 antennas mounted above the ice, delivering information to TV screens just 0.16 seconds behind the play. The technology will record roughly 10,000 tracked events per game, up from the 350 events currently recorded by in-house statisticians.

As a result, the NHL can now track information, such as a player’s speed, the distance he travels in a game and the amount of time he spends in a particular zone. It should give the league better data for measuring things, such as puck possession. Right now, the league still relies on wonky proxy stats, such as Corsi and Fenwick, that measure possession through shot attempt volume.

The technology should revolutionize the game, providing new insights into player values while giving journalists new tools for telling stories.

“I’m looking forward to getting the data,” DeBoer said. “I have no idea what that’ll look like or what our use will be. We’ve started to talk a little bit about that, but it’s premature because we haven’t gotten it yet. It’s going to be an overwhelming amount of information, and how we use that, that’s on us to figure out once we get a hold of that.